PENSIONS PAID OUT

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 456, 18 May 1932, Page 1

PENSIONS PAID OUT

New Government of N.S.W. at Work. GETTING BACK TO NORMAL. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received May 18, 10.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 18. A Bill providing for the suspension of the Financial Agreements Enforcement Act and the Financial Emergency Act was passed by the Federal Parliament. All proclamations, regulations, • notices and directions issued by the Commonwealth for the attachment of State revenue and a Bill nullifying the Mortgages Taxation Bill, passed by the State Parliament, are suspended. Under the Bill the State Ministry will investigate without delay the Lang appointments to the transport services, particularly the appointment of Mr Goode. Sixty thousand family endowment cheques, representing the sum of £70,C00, have been sent out by the new Government. These represent the payment which fell due on April 26. The payments which were due on May 10 and those which fell due on May 14 j will be posted by Friday, representing a total of £140,000. The cheques, which were sent out on April 12. and which were not met by the banks, arc now being cashed. The Minister of Education, Mr D. Drummond, announced that deferred payments of widows’ pensions and child welfare allowances, totalling £IOO,OOO, would be available immediately. LANG ENDS SILENCE. Declares Governor Acted Unconstitutionally. SYDNEY, May 17. Mr J. T. Lang broke his silence today when he addressed the Labour Caucus. He reviewed the events leading up to his dismissal. Criticising the Governor, Sir Philip Game, he declared that if his Excellency had acted constitutionally in dismissing him he would be acting unrsmv stitutionally if he granted supply after the end of May without Parliamentary approval. The fact that supporters of the United Australia Party have undertaken, during the pending election, not to contest seats hitherto held by the Country Party, and that an amicable working agreement has been reached have caused the utmost satisfaction in anti-Labour circles in New South Wales. Eleven seats must be won from Labour in order to give the Stevens Government a bare working majority. At least ten seats are expected to be won from Labour in the country electorates, and probably five in the metropolitan area. The Premier, Mr B. S. B. Stevens, will deliver the Government’s policy speech early next week. The new Ministers have agreed to forgo their Ministerial salaries. The election campaign will begin immediately.

RESTRICTIONS REMOVED. SYDNEY, May 17. The first acts of the new Cabinet today included the removal of the Lang Government’s restrictions on trade, industry, transport and compulsory unionism. The Minister of Labour will visit Canberra in order to try to induce the Federal Government to allocate to New South Wales its full share of the unemployment vote of £1,200,000. BLOT ON COMMONWEALTH. (Received May 18, 10.25 a.m.) LONDON, May 17. The “ Irish Times,” in a leader,’ states that Mr Lang’s default was a blot, not only on the reputation of New South Wales, but also on the Common, wealth. Decent opinion in Australia had decided that it could not be suffered to pass unnoticed. FEDERAL CRIMES ACT. (Received May 18, 12.30 p.m.) CANBERRA, May IS. The Bill amending the Commonwealth Crimes Act to give the Commonwealth wider powers to deal with unlawful associations was passed by the Senate.